The second season of "Laredo" finds our trio of good ole' boy Texas Rangers dressed in different outfits as well as the addition of a fourth so they constitute a quartet. Dutch actor Robert Wolders joined them for the show's final season as a French dude named Erik Hunter. Hunter dresses himself in fashionably elegant apparel, but he can hold his own against his rough and rowdy Ranger cohorts. This first episode, entitled "The Legend of Midas Mantee," written by "Black Hole" scenarist Gerry Day and freshman writer B.W. Sandefur, is inventive and often hilarious. The use of Nitrous oxide (N2O), dental laughing gas, and camels distinguishes this television oater about a career-criminal, Midas Mantee (Cliff Osmond of "Oklahoma Crude"), who has planned an elaborate gold robbery. Mantee wears a suit and necktie, walks with a noticeable limp, and carries a cane, with a razor-sharp blade encased in the tip. He has made good use of his time in prison to research these robberies. Erik Hunter (Robert Wolders of "Raid on Rommel") takes charge of the situation, while Reese (Neville Brand) spends part of the time locked up in his own handicuffs, riding his horse awkwardly with his saddle clutched in his arms. You see, Reese arrested Erik as a criminal, but Erik outsmarted him and stole the key. Later, as part of an effort to penetrate Mantee's gang of hardcases, Erik and Chad (Peter Brown) stage a shootout that leaves Chad sprawled on main street. One of Mantee's henchmen, knife-wielding Winston (Howard Wendell), witnesses this spectacle. Meanwhile, Mantee's female accomplice, Rita Silver (Maura McGiveney), masquerades as a bespectacled nurse for a dentist. She relies on Nitrous oxide (N2O), aka laughing gas, to acquire the combination to the bank vault from an unsuspecting banker while he is sedated under the influence of it. For the record, nitrious was discovered in 1772. and the 1961 episode of "The Deputy." entitled "The Hard Decision," deployed the use of laughing gas. Erik takes up with Rita, despite Chad's comments that classify her as nobody worth dating. Joe Riley (William Smith of "The Losers") tracks down Mantee and his gunman to an abandoned cavalry fort, but they trap him and hold him as a hostage. When Erik arrives, Mantee decides to challenge his usefulness by having him kill Joe, who is roped and tied like a turkey. Erik warns Mantee that Ranger patrols have got him cornered so the only escape route lies in the desert. As it turns out, Mantee has factored this predicament into his plans, and he has hired the use of camels. Reese has seen this exotic animals, but Chad has him believing that he has seen a mirage. The outcome is funny, with our heroes emerging unscathing after dispatching members of Mantee's outfit. Altogether, "The Legend of Midas Mantee" ranks as an above-average, interesting, and often rib-tickling adventure.
Review of The Legend of Midas Mantee
